New phone app connects parents with schools in District 6

Published: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 5:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at 5:40 p.m.

A new focus on mobile technology in Spartanburg District 6 is putting everything from lunch menus to student grades at parents' fingertips.

The district recently launched its own application for mobile devices like smart phones or tablets. So far, the free app has been downloaded more than 200 times, and district leaders hope it will be an accessible, useful tool for many more parents, students and community members.

“Everything is combined into one convenient mobile app that will help families save time so they don't have to take the time to go to the computer or go through all these different areas on their phones,” explained Cynthia Robinson, District 6 director of public relations.

Robinson designed the app after leaders noted that some 9,000 visitors were accessing the district's website via smart phone or mobile device each month. Users were looking for contact information, calendars or social media sites, but had to click through multiple pages and sometimes visit multiple sites to get the information they were looking for.

Robinson said the district tracked which areas of the site were being accessed the most and used that data, along with information from a communications survey, as a starting place to implement the District 6 app.

“I think it's going to be a great tool for our parents and our community,” she said.

The app offers general information about the district, links to all District 6 schools, news updates, contact and calendar information and directions. There are direct links to the district's Facebook and Twitter pages, an athletics page, an arts site, lunch menus and a District 6 YouTube channel. The app offers parents easy access to Power School — a site that logs student grades, assignments and attendance information, among other things. There's also a tip line that would allow community members to report safety concerns directly to district officials.

Finally, the app is yet another avenue for parents to receive emergency notifications from the district, like school closings in bad weather, for example. Users who download the app will have the option to allow push notifications, which lets district leaders send up-to-date, emergency information directly to the mobile device.

“It just gives us another avenue to communicate with our parents,” Robinson said. “It's not that we're abandoning other traditional avenues of communications, but we want them to be connected to the district and make being a part of their child's education fun.”

District 6 parent Alexis Howlett, who has two children at Anderson Mill Elementary School, downloaded the app last week.

“I think it's a great piece of technology for a parent on-the-go,” Howlett said. “It has literally combined everything I need as a parent.”

Howlett said she and her children, James, 7, and Gray, 5, regularly check daily lunch menus. Also, Howlett said the app's links to school and district calendars help her keep up with events like picture day or school holidays.

“I can check it while I'm waiting in the carpool line,” Howlett said. “I can do it at work, or while we're sitting in karate practice or dance.”

Robinson said the district contacted and got quotes from several companies to build the app, but start-up costs totaling upwards of $13,000, plus annual fees, prompted leaders to pursue other options. Robinson said that building the app in-house cost roughly $1,200.

To download the app, search for “Spartanburg District Six” from any mobile device's app store. Information, including a video on the application, is also available on the district's website, www.spartanburg6.k12.sc.us, on the Spartanburg County School District Six Facebook page and on the district's Twitter page @SpartDist6.

<p>A new focus on mobile technology in Spartanburg District 6 is putting everything from lunch menus to student grades at parents' fingertips.</p><p>The district recently launched its own application for mobile devices like smart phones or tablets. So far, the free app has been downloaded more than 200 times, and district leaders hope it will be an accessible, useful tool for many more parents, students and community members.</p><p>“Everything is combined into one convenient mobile app that will help families save time so they don't have to take the time to go to the computer or go through all these different areas on their phones,” explained Cynthia Robinson, District 6 director of public relations.</p><p>Robinson designed the app after leaders noted that some 9,000 visitors were accessing the district's website via smart phone or mobile device each month. Users were looking for contact information, calendars or social media sites, but had to click through multiple pages and sometimes visit multiple sites to get the information they were looking for.</p><p>Robinson said the district tracked which areas of the site were being accessed the most and used that data, along with information from a communications survey, as a starting place to implement the District 6 app.</p><p>“I think it's going to be a great tool for our parents and our community,” she said.</p><p>The app offers general information about the district, links to all District 6 schools, news updates, contact and calendar information and directions. There are direct links to the district's Facebook and Twitter pages, an athletics page, an arts site, lunch menus and a District 6 YouTube channel. The app offers parents easy access to Power School — a site that logs student grades, assignments and attendance information, among other things. There's also a tip line that would allow community members to report safety concerns directly to district officials.</p><p>Finally, the app is yet another avenue for parents to receive emergency notifications from the district, like school closings in bad weather, for example. Users who download the app will have the option to allow push notifications, which lets district leaders send up-to-date, emergency information directly to the mobile device.</p><p>“It just gives us another avenue to communicate with our parents,” Robinson said. “It's not that we're abandoning other traditional avenues of communications, but we want them to be connected to the district and make being a part of their child's education fun.”</p><p>District 6 parent Alexis Howlett, who has two children at Anderson Mill Elementary School, downloaded the app last week.</p><p>“I think it's a great piece of technology for a parent on-the-go,” Howlett said. “It has literally combined everything I need as a parent.”</p><p>Howlett said she and her children, James, 7, and Gray, 5, regularly check daily lunch menus. Also, Howlett said the app's links to school and district calendars help her keep up with events like picture day or school holidays.</p><p>“I can check it while I'm waiting in the carpool line,” Howlett said. “I can do it at work, or while we're sitting in karate practice or dance.”</p><p>Robinson said the district contacted and got quotes from several companies to build the app, but start-up costs totaling upwards of $13,000, plus annual fees, prompted leaders to pursue other options. Robinson said that building the app in-house cost roughly $1,200.</p><p>To download the app, search for “Spartanburg District Six” from any mobile device's app store. Information, including a video on the application, is also available on the district's website, www.spartanburg6.k12.sc.us, on the Spartanburg County School District Six Facebook page and on the district's Twitter page @SpartDist6.</p>